March 17, 2022
Whoa! I missed an important anniversary for what happened on March 16, 1994. On that date figure skater Tonya Harding pleaded guilty to the charge of “conspiracy to hinder prosecution” with regard to the “knee whack attack” on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, a chief rival. But it’s not too late for me to reflect on it.
Harding received three years probation and was slapped with a $160,000 fine. A few months later, her 1994 national championships title was revoked, and she was banned from the USFSA forever.
Kerrigan recovered quickly from her knee injury and resumed her intensive training. After that, she won the silver medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
The whole affair was a media spectacle, all the way down to journeyman nobodies like me. So on this 2022 St. Patrick’s Day here is my first and last attempt from 28 years ago at playing wordsmith in the Irish tradition.